Summer is coming to an end, and soon homeowners will be able to put away their lawnmowers for another season.
But there are questions Tuesday about how they’ll be allowed to approach lawn care when warm weather returns, questions centred on Manitoba’s cosmetic pesticide ban.
In May, the Pallister government said it was developing a new framework. It has yet to be revealed, and some are growing anxious, including members of the lawn care industry and those with environmental sensitivities.
Tim Muys, owner, Green Blade Lawn Care, said since the cosmetic pesticide ban came into effect in 2015, he's lost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
"This year's been one of the most challenging I can recall," he told CTV News Tuesday.
Muys believes that could be in part due to some customers having given up using the more expensive and less effective eco-friendly products, and in part due to the extra dry summer. He expects next year will be better, provided the province loosens up the ban on cosmetic pesticides, as it indicated it would in 2017.
Muys said he needs to know what the rules will be so he can order new product.
“It’s very frustrating not knowing where your next step is going to be," Muys said.
Marg Friesen is also frustrated with the unknown. She’s with the Environmental Health Association of Manitoba and would like to see the ban remain, or be replaced by even stricter rules.
"Because it makes people sick," she said, adding that children and people living with environmental sensitivities are especially vulnerable to pesticides.
Late Tuesday, the province told CTV News it has no update to provide.
With files from CTV’s Jon Hendricks
